Joanne Neperud

Minot

Joanne was born on July 20, 1939 in Grand Rapids, MN to Lloyd and Gladys Deaver. She was raised and educated in Brainerd, MN where she served as a secretary to the Brainerd City Clerk and the Northwest Paper Mill. She and her husband, Jerome Neperud, moved to Minot, ND in 1961 and Surrey, ND in 1971. Their union was blessed with three children, Kevin, Lisa, and Steven. The couple later divorced.

In 2009 Joanne returned to Minot. Joanne began her 37-year civil service career as a billeting clerk at the Minot AFB hotel in June 1974. She next worked as secretary to the Deputy Commander for Maintenance of F-106NB aircraft, 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, from 1974 to 1981. In August 1981, she was hired as secretary to the Commander, 91st Operations Group, 91st Missile/Space Wing, where she worked for 23 consecutive group commanders. During her career, she distinguished herself by winning the prestigious 1989 David C. Jones Chapter, AF Outstanding Achievement Award; the Minot AFB and 15th AF Outstanding Intermediate Information Manager of the Year Awards as well as the Strategic Air Command Outstanding Intermediate Information Manager of the Year, Staff Support Award. She was honored as the wing’s Category 1 Civilian Employee of the Year 1997. Her accolades include the AF Exemplary Civilian Service Award presented in 2004 and the AF Outstanding Civilian Career Service Award in 2011. She was selected to participate in two Glory Trip incentive flights to Vandenberg AFB, CA to observe Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operational test and evaluation missile launches.

Joanne was a talented poet who promoted the MAFB’s resilient spirit throughout Team Minot. She was the focus of several articles printed in the Minot Daily News and the MAFB Northern Sentry. She was a frequent speaker at supervisory farewells, Airforce holiday parties, the operations group’s Rough Rider Awards Event and a ribbon cutting ceremony at Golf One Missile Alert Facility. At her retirement in 2011, she was presented with a Roughrider Bully Stick and US flag and feted by a base honor guard flag folding ceremony.

Joanne’s family was her crowning achievement. She traveled with them to Maui, Oahu, Las Vegas, Baltimore, and Washington DC. She most recently spent her winter months in Mesa, AZ along with her daughter and family. She devoted herself to caring for her mother and her son Kevin in the final stages of their lives, always placing their needs before her own.

Joanne’s surviving family includes her daughter Lisa (Terry) Mock, Lake Metigoshe, ND, her son Steven Neperud, Rock Hill, SC, her grandchildren, Jacob and Nick (Ashley) Mock, Tommy and Ashley Neperud, and great grandchildren, Jackston and Jett Mock.

She was preceded in death by her mother Gladys VanDenheuvel and her son Kevin.

A celebration of Joanne’s life will take place on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church, Minot. To view a livestream of the service access https://bethanylutheranchurch58701.com/livestream/

Burial will be held at Rosehill Memorial Park, Minot.

Memorials are preferred to Bethany Lutheran Church, Minot.

Published by The Minot Daily News, June 1, 2026.